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Friday, March 07, 2008

Brier Blog stars an Officer

Where, oh where, are we supposed to start?

It’s the Brier, the Canadian men’s curling championship. And there is just so much out there to surf to, consult, read up on, etc. And, of course, to watch on either TV or your computer.

We can’t cover everything, but we will point you in a few directions. Then, we’ll wrap up some other curling stuff, and finish with our famous curling linkfest.

Item one: Jill Officer. The all-star second and Ford Hot Shots champion – not to forget 2008 Canadian women’s champion – can now throw a rock with her eyes closed (Kruger products photo by Andrew Klaver, above). That’s how easy the sport has become for this Sport Canada carded athlete. Just say “oooohhmmm”, open your hand, and be the rock. Oh yes, yogi, it’s that easy.

Now Jill will take a break from Ford Worlds preparations and staff the official Curling News-desk at the Brier media bench, blogging daily, right here, for one and all to read. She’s also writing an occasional column for the Winnipeg Sun (see points to follow) and ensuring the stacks of TCNs are on display in the Patch, Purple Heart Lounge, et cetera. Oh, and you might see this budding photographer out on the carpet, too, snapping some still images of her male counterparts. Naturally, the TCN servers will explode as viewers click here often to see how many of Jill’s favourite butt shots make these pages. Oh, behave!

So there you go. The Curling News Blog becomes Jill’s official playpen, starting tomorrow. Check back often.

Now, for those two Winnipeg newspapers, the Freep and the Sun. These guys will both go wall-to-wall over the next nine days, and while the Freep’s Brier portal just plain looks better than the Sun’s aging appearance, the Freepies are also boasting of AM draw coverage streamed live from their website. But then again, both CurlTV and CBC Sports Online are doing that, too.Oh, and TSN.ca, too ... after their live TV games you’ll be able to call up any games you missed online.

Like we said... where to start?

We’ve also decided to cut through the chaff and spotlight some cool Brier pre-stories, just for you. And they are:

– This feature on Manitoba’s quiet second, and the incident which drives him

– This mention that the fifth-end break of the semifinal – on the afternoon of March 15 – will feature a tribute to the big three of curling journalism, who all passed away in the last eight months: Don Wittman, Don Chevrier and TCN’s own Doug Maxwell. Don’t miss it.

– And finally, can it be true that TCN’s own Matt Hames was the only person to notice that the ice at the Scotties featured the brand new World Curling Federation expanded ice size of 15’7” (up from 14’2”)? We think so, and hold on to your seats folks, because the Brier features the same expanded ice, too.

And now, for your linkfest ...

• DID YOU KNOW: that Canada’s William Dion finished first in the round-robin at the World Juniors, while Kaitlyn Lawes’ Canadian women are down 6-3 to Denmark midway through their tiebreaking match?

• A nifty curling graphic from SINClocated here: topical as many a curling fan shall be dining in front of the TV in the coming days!

• DID YOU KNOW IV: that 2002 Olympic champion Rhona Martin appeared before a special Scottish sport participation committee inquiry last week (here and also here)? Here’s the wrap-up, but you can apparently view the proceeds online, too ...

• And finally, it looks like we forgot about our Ithaca friends and their glorious championship, held in late December. News story here, and a plea from the ARSI for Olympic status in 2010 located here.